Krishna was the chief minister of Karnataka from 1999 to 2004 and the Governor of Maharashtra from 2004 to 2008. In May 2009, Prime Minister

Krishna cut ties with Congress and joined the BJP in 2017 but kept a low profile in politics.

He was Karnataka Chief Minister from October 11, 1999, to May 28, 2004, and also served as External Affairs Minister during the Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Alliance government from 2009 to 2012, and as Maharashtra Governor.

He joined the BJP in March 2017, ending his nearly 50-year-long association with the Congress. He retired from active politics last year, ANI reported.

He received the Padma Vibhushan at Rashtrapati Bhavan in 2023 for his contribution in the field of public affairs.

“My parents will be pleased and happy for that the honourable Prime Minister and Home Minister have thought it fit to confer this prestigious distinction on me. I’m grateful to the government of India and I’m also grateful to the people of Karnataka,” Krishna was quoted as saying after receiving the award.

A law graduate

A law graduate, he studied in the United States graduating from the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and The George Washington University Law School in Washington DC, where he was a Fulbright Scholar, according to an agency report.

He was a member of both Karnataka Assembly and Council, and also had served as Deputy Chief Minister (1993 to 1994), and was Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president ahead of the 1999 Assembly polls in which the party won and he became the chief minister. Krishna is credited by many for putting Bengaluru on the global map, as a fillip given to the IT sector during his tenure has resulted in the city growing as ‘India’s Silicon Valley’, a Press Trust of India report said.

(This is a developing story and will be updated.)